NYC Day 4

A few weeks before I went to NY, Ang and I were talking on our cell phones (free Verizon-to-Verizon gives us no limits, thank goodness!) and she told me how she went to a FREE yoga class with her friend and at this FREE yoga class she saw one of the Olsen twins. Funny she would go to a FREE yoga class. Maybe she likes to save money on occasion, probably because she just doesn't have enough of it, huh?!?! Yeah right! Then that same night the same friend that was at the yoga class with her saw this same Olsen twin at "the #1 rated sushi restaurant in Manhattan" (according to a website). We already decided we wanted to get sushi once while I was in NY so now we knew where we were going to go. I mean come on, if on of the Olsen twins eats there and a website says it is #1 then it must be fabulous, right?
Ok so on day 4 after waking a bit later and taking our time getting ready we went to Tomoe Sushi for lunch. It was kinda far away and kinda in a weirder part of town, although I don't know I can explain it what way it was weirder- it just was. Kinda like it was not as nice but also kinda we didn't see too many people out and about. So we made it to this place. It was on our right side of the street and the doors before it and after it were people's apartment doors. Weird. So inside there were about 8 tables. All of them were very close together. So if Ashley Olsen were right next to someone you could definitely hear everything she was saying. But she wasn't next to us. Darn it, kinda but kinda not! The place was ok but not fabulous. And we didn't really know what we were ordering because the menu wasn't very clear in it's descriptions. So oh well. Live and learn, right? (We grabbed sushi from the market later that night, or maybe it was a different night, that was super better and super cheaper and it made us feel like we had satisfied our sushi crave that our $50 did not satisfy previously.

We made our way to the TKTS booth at Times Square where we stood in line for discount theater tickets- for 2 hours. If you have the time it's the way to go- if crunched for time then pay the full price. We had the time and used it well by observing others, chatting, and observing others- people watching in NYC is really amusing by the way.
We kinda wanted to see Guys and Dolls but they only had 'partial-view' seating available and the tickets were still $91 each. I have seen Stomp before and it may be my favorite of all the Broadway shows I have seen- one of the only ones I wouldn't mind seeing again and again and again. So I talked Angela into it. $40 tickets but not seated together, oh well.
We went back to Ang's apartment, showered and got pretty and then checked the subway for directions and stop times and such and realized the subway wouldn't get us there in time. We also found out that this show (and others) was NOT on Broadway Street but on a street quite far away. HRMPH! Out to hail a cab we go. The great thing about our cab ride was that it took us up Park Avenue. Loved it! Probably the nicest area I had seen in Manhattan. Lots of nice apartment buildings & office buildings and every car we drove by was a top notch brand. Wish I would have gone there again but there just wasn't time to fit it in.
We made it to Stomp on time, kinda. I say kinda because we probably drove up about 3 minutes after the show was supposed to start. We got up to the theater and there was a small line outside. When we got in the door it was rather chaotic. Some people had to go around a corner and up a few stairs to the balcony and some they would let through to their seats on the floor level. Ang and I kinda handed the guy our tickets at the same time. He took a look at them both and tried sending me to the stairs (remember our seats were not together) and her to the floor level when another guy told the ticket taker that he had seats for us together. He took us in to the floor level and we stood around and then he showed us to some seats- maybe in the 10th row. This theater was so small. I am so used to Gammage I guess. There were probably only 20 rows- maybe 8 seats on either side. I have no idea how many balcony seats there were because they were directly above our heads but it definitely didn't seat very many people. I guess for a show to be put on nearly every night all year long then if the theater was too big it would never sell out. So this guy got us seats together and they were great seats. But he did inform us that the people that had our seats had to leave because one of them vomited. Fabulous, huh?!? Well, we got good seats out of it! We were also able to make it to the show on time because they had to hold a lot of people outside while they cleaned up the puke (Carlee's favorite word these days, by the way) and it stalled the starting of the show. The show was great and Ang said she hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Me either. It was so flippin hilarious. Glad I saw it again. Well worth the money.

I'm pretty sure we asked the guy that took our picture to get the Stomp sign in the background, apparently he wasn't up for that

After that we headed across the street to get a cab but saw a place called Dallas BBQ, which was recommended by a friend who had lived in NY, and decided to eat a late dinner there- we shared one meal and it was really yummy. It was full of nice-looking-well-to-do college boys (if there is such a thing) who looked older than boys (maybe grad students). I think we were very near NYU, or one of the major universities. We walked a long ways, and it was cold, and the streets were dark, and we passed a few bars with many of those nice-looking-well-to-do fellas standing outside on pub patios drinking a glass of rum, brandy, or scotch, while a few cheesy gals hung all over them. GAG! But we finally made it to a subway station. We had a long ride home and changed trains a few different times. Did you know that 2.4 miles on the subway can take 43 minutes? (According to Hopstop.com)
When we got off the subway I checked my cell phone thinking I may have gotten good-night voice mails from the kids and hubby back home. I sure got calls, but not the good-night calls I was hoping for. Click HERE to find out why. I was up worrying until I got a call that said Cloee was doing so much better.

NYC Day 3

We got up at 5:45 am NY time which is 2:45 am Phx time and didn't go to sleep until very late- like 3 am. Sometimes you can just survive on less than 3 hours of sleep when there is so much excitement involved. We tried to go to the Regis and Kelly show, mostly because Julia Roberts and Leann Rimes were going to be on that day. We went and stood in the standby line. We were about 45 people back (and it was early morning and we were very cold) and the guy told us that the most they have EVER let in from standby was 32 and that was on a terrible weather day when many people couldn't travel to get there.
So we decided to leave and go to the Martha Stewart show. BIG MISTAKE! Neither one of us care for her but were in the neighborhood and the guy told us he could guarantee we'd get in and they give away lots of great stuff. We took a cab- which was so scary and we were both carsick after only a couple of miles. We were walking along the street which was not a super nice area and was quite dirty. Then we came upon tons of dog poop. I had to ask Ang if people in NY had dogs and she said she didn't really see many dogs. We had no clue where the heck all the dog poop was coming from. We walked all the way down the sidewalk to where we saw the sign that just said "Martha" but were ever so careful where we stepped. We went to the door where we were told to go and the guy that came out told us he could probably get us seats but he wanted to inform us that they were doing a 'theme show' and it was on dogs. Every person in the audience had a dog with them. Explains all the poop! Well neither Angela nor myself are dog people and quickly decided to decline the offer of seats at the "Martha Stewart Show", but not without laughing hysterically. Stupid, dumb, lame. I can hardly bring myself to flip past her show on tv because it just reminds me of dogs and their nasty poop and the city sidewalk covered in it.
Ok anyways, back to the Regis and Kelly Show. We were standing behind a lady and her daughter who were probably 25 and 50 ish. So this girl and her mom decided to stay in line. We just so happened to see them at Times Square a few days later. What are the chances? There's a billion people everywhere and we saw each other while in line at the TKTS booth. Crazy! We asked them if they stayed and if they were able to get in. It just so happened that about 20 minutes after we left they let up to number 50-something in. They were able to sit inside and wait and finally found out there was going to be a second taping and they would be at that taping. They said they had a blast. I can't even remember who the main star that was on but the website said that was to be taped the day after we ran in to them and so at least we knew it was already taped and not to get up early and try to get into another show.
So we did not take a cab back but rather the subway. Not only are cabs pricey and most often unnecessary but also they make you wanna puke and fear for your life- NO JOKE!

All the pics we took in the cab were so blurry

We took a nap for a few hours and then did TONS of walking the rest of the day. I wonder if I lost weight on this trip- or at least gained some muscle. Maybe, maybe not.

We went with Angela's friend Layne and her friend and hit up quite a few touristy places. We took the subway somewhere (don't ask me where without a map in front of me) and then got on the Staten Island Ferry (it's free!). It took us across to Staten Island and then we rode it back.

Inside the ferry without our lovely beanies- it felt about 165868714 degrees below zero when we stepped outside to take pictures of the Statue of Liberty, and the wind was crazy. Made me feel for those poor people that landed on the Hudson a few months ago. BRRRR!

We were able to see the Statue of Liberty and that's about all I needed to do- SEE IT. I didn't have any need or desire to actually go to it. I must need to learn to appreciate history a little more.

There she is in all her glory- look how tiny the people are in comparison to her

We then walked ALL-THE-WAY-AROUND the World Trade Center site. We were in search of a memorial which happened to be about the size of the red Excursion now sitting in my driveway. I think we must have walked at least 2 miles- maybe more because we had to go up stairs and ramps and all kinds of stuff due to all the construction going on. We finally found it.

All the names of those brave people that gave their lives are engraved at the bottom

It's so hard for me to even begin to imagine what they went through

Hey you know what else I found? There was a building we walked passed that looked like it was being gutted or something. But the first 3-4 floors had big construction draping so I couldn't see in to the building. Only by looking up at the ginormous thing could I see that they were taking it apart. I found this small sign that said something to the effect of:
"This building suffered so much damage from 9/11 that it will never be sturdy enough to be used again. Since 9/11 the careful process of removing this building from this site has been in effect but have had to take such precaution so that none of the buildings surrounding it will be affected." Thus the slow process and why it is taking so many years to take down- they can't just implode it or wreck it down. It was interesting to me, I dunno why.
So the WTC site is nothing but a big construction site/hole in the ground. There is nothing to see because they have giant construction barriers up that you can't see through. All that can be seen are the cranes that stick up in the sky.

Large area where the towers used to stand

Lots of construction going on

We made our way to the financial district. Just a bunch of nice office buildings- nothing too great.

Apparently I took a picture of a sign at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street

Afterwards we went to the Pier something or other where there was a little mall and Ang did a little shopping while the other 2 girls and I ate at the food court. I found some ear muffs because my ears- like inside my ears down in the tube would be so cold it would burn- but it wasn't really that cold. I know it's odd, hard to explain. But I got some ear muffs and I was happy- not big puffy ones like you are picturing but little flat ones that are not noticeable and everyone wears.

Brooklyn Bridge- the pier is at the bottom left

I think this shot from the pier looks at the city of Brooklyn, or maybe it's Staten Island. I can't really recall. But I love the picture!

That's moi in the ever so lovely beanie with Ang and the unknown city in the background. Hudson river behind us perhaps? Can't recall that either.

We separated from the other two girls and we walked past Angela's office building where she was doing her internship.
We made our way to the subway and took it to the Grand Central Station stop. This was my favorite place to see. It was amazing. It was actually quite beautiful inside. I couldn't believe all the different 'ports' or 'terminals' (what do you call those thingys?) for subway and trains- going to Connecticut, New Jersey, all over. There were signs that said all the times the trains leave and people- like business men in suits- would run through the station to catch their train because if they missed it then they would have to wait 13 more minutes for the next one. It was funny to me but Angela pointed out to me that some of the places could take them 2+ hours on the train so they wanted to get home. Made sense once she told me that I guess, but a funny thing to see.

Just like in the movies

I don't know why it was roped off or where this door leads but it was a really pretty corridor

We went to the food court at Grand Central Station- it was huge from what I remember, or maybe there were shops there too and not just food joints??? I can't seem to remember now. We were looking for a specific place that has fabulous sorbet. And boy was it so yummy. I got blood red orange sorbet which was so weird for me because I don't tend to like orange things but this was so delish! I think I got a 2nd flavor too but can't remember what it was. Angela got banana and something else and the banana was so yummy too. I crave that sorbet all the time now.

This is a horrible picture of me but there's my sorbet at the bottom left

We eventually made it home that night. It was a very long day. We grabbed a slice of pizza for a late dinner, took baths, did some yoga and went to bed exhausted but full of giddiness from such a great day!

Pizza slice is giant-huge and thin


This is after I had eaten enough to fill me up. It doesn't look like it's really that big but the plate probably makes it seem that way- the plate is big. It HAD to be to hold that large of a slice of pizza.

Boating

These are pictures from one day when we went boating.

This was Cloee's first time going with us. I was extremely nervous having her there so I was a little on edge most of the time. Thankfully she slept a lot and when she wasn't sleeping she enjoyed sitting with Daddy and 'helping' him drive the boat.

Carlee and Cade are always giving the thumbs up to go faster.

I just go along for the ride. Nothing wild, such as cliff jumping, for me.

NYC Day 2

We slept in fairly late and didn't head out until around 1:00. LOTS of walking today because many bus routes and sidewalks were closed due to the parade.

Typical 'Upper East Side' apartment; most times the entire floor is all one large apartment

We took the bus to 5th Avenue and walked many blocks right along the edge of Central Park (no leaves this time of year) to get to the St Patrick's Day Parade. It is supposedly a HUGE deal in NY. People come from all over- I saw paraders representing Florida and Louisiana and all the states surrounding NY as well (NJ, CT, etc). Saw lots of crazy people all over the place! Silly green hats, people dressed and painted in green were everywhere.

The door dudes were watching the parade while they 'worked'

Are you kidding me? I don't know if I'm more surprised about the built in 3 foot tall leprechaun on the suspender dudes shoulders or the guy with the 6 in high flat top wearing a purple sweatsuit
Also, notice the green trees in the background. These were the only green trees I saw the entire time I was in NY, all other trees had lost their leaves already; I don't know what the deal is with these few trees, maybe they never lose their leaves.

The parade itself was actually fairly redundant. It consisted mostly of NYFD and NYPD officers- rows and rows of them, their different bagpipe companies, which is apparently quite common back east, lots of little Irish dancing troupes, and many school bands. One thing I am curious about: do we have a Phoenix Bagpipe Co that is part of the police department? Interesting stuff.

Lots and lots of these dudes with their fancy white gloves on

Dancing their jig

Playing their little Irish flute thing

Crazy costume, huh?!

We watched for a while, maybe an hour or so and then watched as we walked up 5th Avenue which was pretty much the entire parade route- a lot of walking. At one point we were in front of The MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) and I looked up on top of the buildings and there were sharpshooters up there. They musta been lookin' for trouble. :)

Here's a pic of The MET- the outside is under construction but the building itself is very intricate and beautiful

The guys on top of the building were looking through their binos the whole time

We met up with one of Ang's friends, Layne, and her friend, Lauren. We walked around The Plaza Hotel, 5th Avenue stores, then Rockefeller Center and then headed to Times Square. My feet were hurting so badly and a large blister was forming on my heel- we found a Payless shoe store. I don't think I have been in a Payless for years but I was able to get some better shoes. We split off from the other girls and we then went to the Empire State Building. I didn't really think it was anything spectacular, but Angela and I agreed that maybe I should have seen it at night when it was all lit up. It didn't seem that much taller than the other buildings because ALL the buildings seem sooooo tall and they are all basically hooked together. We walked around many stores around Times Square and had tons of fun.

The Plaza Hotel- When Carlee was browsing through my pics she stopped on this one and said, "Mom, is this a picture of The Tipton?!!!!" I had to burst her bubble and tell her that it was just a similar hotel, not the real Tipton

Trump Tower (on 5th Ave)- nothing super spectacular

Rockefeller Center

Notice the green and white balloons to the left by TGIFridays. Everyone was celebrating St Patrick's Day!

Us on the red steps in Times Square, the Diet Coke sign ruins the entire picture :)

My hands, nose and ears were freezing though. Ear muffs needed! Even inside my ears were freezing. We hopped on the subway for home with very hungry stomachs (we packed sandwiches and cookies and had eaten them earlier in the day). We made fajitas for dinner and chatted for a while. After midnight, while Ang was working on a paper, I was on the computer and found that Julia Roberts was going to be on the Regis and Kelly show the next day. We decided we would get up very early and head over to the stand-by line. More about that on my day 3 report.

Memorial Day 2009

We do the same general thing every year on our Memorial Day trip to Clint's Well area... play cards and games, ride the toys, play baseball and wiffle ball, go to the cave, collect geodes, play in the fire, eat, read, sleep... This year my mom kept Cloee because her lungs were sick and she couldn't handle the altitude and it's a good thing because she would've been a mess trying to play in all the mud from the tons of rain we got.

Me and Allen

Cade grabbin' a drink

Allen and the kids playing cards

Posing as we hunt for geodes

Cade was putting geodes in every pocket he had

Even his back pockets

He was very weighed down as he walked but he didn't mind a bit

Carlee was sneaking a peek at me while I was resting on a rock so I grabbed the camera and snapped a pic

The geode hunt is on

Man it was hot and I was about done at this point

The kids climbed up on this hill and then yelled for us to take a picture of them

The kids are standing right next to a dead half eaten animal (it's right by the tree, I think it was a deer)

Yep that's me crouched down in the back- some areas of the cave are tiny

We love the cave- go there every year even though we've been there a bunch of times already

Our Home Sweet Home Away From Home (the hauler on the right)